(no subject)

On my earlier statement about the US government refusing help:

Offers have been received from Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Honduras, Germany, Venezuela, Jamaica, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, China, South Korea, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, NATO and the Organization of American States.

Still, Bush told ABC-TV: "I'm not expecting much from foreign nations because we hadn't asked for it. I do expect a lot of sympathy and perhaps some will send cash dollars."

Apparently Condi Rice didn't get the memo, because despite what the rest of her government are saying, Rice thinks they have not refused and will not refuse help. Of course, they've ALREADY told Russia to *not* send help, it's not needed.

Courtesy of former New Orleans native leighdb, here's a site for people looking for up-to-date details on the current status of parts of New Orleans. It's an interactive Google Map.

Photos from the ground, courtesy of a blogger working for an ISP, running on generator power

While I'm on pictures, here's a satellite shot of Katrina making landfall.

(no subject)

Contrary to reports, Baton Rouge is not being looted.

Neither is Houston, nor Shreveport, nor any of the other places the refugees have gone.

geology has an explanation on *why* the damage was so bad

Fats Domino has been found alive in New Orleans.

Finally, we have Gulfport, Mississippi before:


And Gulfport, Mississippi, after:

(no subject)

A series of explosions rocked New Orleans this morning. The remains of the city are now burning. The source of the explosion is unknown, but believed to involve a chemical factory.

People on the scene are reporting that it was and old warehouse that held oil, and, since it's not toxic, they're letting it burn out.

(no subject)

(no subject)

MST3K "watch" a Chick Tract.

An orca at Marineland has started using the fish he's given as bait to catch seagulls - and he's taught the other whales the trick. "Now five Marineland whales supplement their diet with fresh fowl"

(no subject)

Image removed. Click to see it. May offend some viewers. Work-safe.

For your consideration:

Bush is going to take a walking tour of New Orleans today.

Snake Plisskin is fictional.

I'm sensing a kickass plan coming on.


Related, a scene from the inside of the Houston Astrodome, courtesy of a Paramedic friend of berlinfire's

"Excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed."

An interview with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Choice excerpts:

On Bush and the administration:

"They're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning, and people are dying down here."

"They don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters..."

"You know, one of the briefings we had, they were talking about getting public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out here. I'm like, You got to be kidding me. This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans. That's -- they're thinking small, man. And this is a major, major, major deal."

"I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city. And then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count.

Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something,"


When told that help has been delayed because the proper request hasn't gone through the proper channels because they're on vacation:

"Well, did the tsunami victims request? Did it go through a formal process to request? You know, did the Iraqi people request that we go in there? Did they ask us to go in there? What is more important?"

"We authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places.

Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need?"


On riots and looting:

"And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it.

You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.

And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun."

"We called for martial law when we realized that the looting was getting out of control. And we redirected all of our police officers back to patrolling the streets. They were dead-tired from saving people, but they worked all night because we thought this thing was going to blow wide open last night. And so we redirected all of our resources, and we hold it under check.

I'm not sure if we can do that another night"

(no subject)

Sorry, Pete. "Batshit insane" is the correct term this time.

Ah, yes. Hurricane relief - the Red Cross sends food, money and blood. The US National Guard sends moving equipment and medics. The US Marine Corps sends troops to restore order.

The Gideons? They're collecting volunteers and tying up as much shipping as they can to send that most critical of emergency hurricane supplies, Bibles.

Warren Ellis posted this one, which one of his readers found on FreeRepublic.
Speaking of the batshit insane, check out some of the comments

(no subject)

Moo-hoo-ha-ha-ha.

xygar has a Wikipedia entry.

I've just finished editing it.
(It's less interesting than the evil laugh makes it sound)

Headline of the day. Also dogs.

Police in northeastern Thailand issued arrest warrants Wednesday against machete-wielding Buddhist monks who brawled over a woman.